Built an inspection pit...
 

All:

I don't have enough ceiling clearance for a lift, so I just got done installing an inspection pit. Finished dimensions are 6' deep, 3' wide by 8' long. Offset toward the front of the garage so I can still slither in/out when the Discovery is over it.

Step 1. Template:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...01Template.jpg

Step 2. Cut floor:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p.../02Cutting.jpg

Step 3. Remove concrete:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...03Concrete.jpg

Step 4. Excavate:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...Excavation.jpg

Step 5. Place floor:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...it/06Floor.jpg

Step 6. More rebar:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...it/06Rebar.jpg

Step 7. Build form:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...Pit/07Form.jpg

Step 8. Place walls:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...Pit/08Pour.jpg

Step 9. Strip forms:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...Stripforms.jpg

Step 10: Finished! (Well, almost...)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...10Finished.jpg

Step 11. Timbers to cover hole when not in use (Still working on that- might use old aluminium walkways?) Next year I'll paint it with that epoxy stuff.

Cheers,

Paul.

Well Damn! Aren't you a handy fella.

Bobcats are great - I remember when they first came out

just watch it with any fumes in the pit!

Pits are not not allowed by building code in most cities.

Keep your garage door closed if you are within city limits.

I may not be handsome, but I do try to be handy!

I have an electric fan from an old fire place I'm going to use to keep the air circulating.

No ordinances against pits in this city!

At least for now...

You could use the thick grate, then hook up a pulley system to send it strait up to the ceiling so you're not trying to lift it by hand.....
Did you incorperate a ladder in there on the front wall?

are you in Pendle-town? surprising code...

I'd locate the fan motor outside of the pit - and I'd use a blower, not a "fan" - the reason is that the fumes can be explosive and any sparking from the brushes on an elec. motor and...

You should have buried a body or two while you were in there. But then maybe you did anyway.

Paul:

Very nice.

I really like the clever use of the road flares.

I would suggest your coat the pit as soon as the conrete is dry enough to accept the coating. Once you get oil/grease absorbed into the concrete, you will have paint adhesion problems and will need to take heroic means to get decent adhesion.

I also agree with the other poster that a small ladder may be nice as well.

One question, when the car is over the pit, how will you get in or out? I hope you will not be counting on Kathy to let you out, this could be dangerous :D

That is an incredibly nice pit but I always thought they had stairs that lead into them from one end. If you are in there how do you get out over a 6 foot wall?

I would wire a phone in there AND carry a cell phone just in case.

All:

thanks for the responses! I am going to mount fold-out steps on the end wall. And I may well paint the whole thing this summer- garage floor is due anyway. Not in Pendleton- La Grande. The fan should work pretty well, but I'll keep my cell phone close. I took confined space training so I'm clued into that stuff. As I mentioned, I can get in/out when the Land Rover is over it, so there'll be plenty of room for getting in/out when the 993 is over it!

Cheers,

Paul.

Good deal!

I guess you had to back up for each shovel full? Doesn't look like you had much swing in there...

I started off by loading the trailer, but It was a real bear backing the trailer in then getting it out. I tried man-handling it at first, but loaded it was over 1,000# so I started doing it this way:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...heelbarrow.jpg

Good God, we Americans have become a society of self conscious safety mavens. I remember playing unsupervised in a pit at my grandparents farm when I was 10 or so. Yeah, no guards on big flat belt machines either. And, Jesus, get this, an exposed flywheel slap on the side of the John Deere just ahead of your left foot.

Great work - but one question I'd have based on your pictures is, you did check to see you have enough room to get in/out of the pit with the ENGINE END of the car over the pit and without the nose of the car hanging outside the garage door right?

The workmanship looks solid - one other thing Oregon is pretty wet and can have high water tables in places - any need for a sump or anything in the bottom of that?

Congrats if you got it all worked out - you definitely did a clean install. Be careful driving the car over that thing! Or better still leave the cover plate in place, then drive the car up and pull the plate out afterwards so there's no chance of getting a wheel where you don't want it.

Very cool! If you would be so kind and supply a cost breakdown. I would like to do something like that as well.

SWEET! Wow Paul, I am impressed. I was in LaGrande Tues/Wed this last week for a safety conference. If I hadn't been so tuckered out, I would have looked you up and bought you a beer.

Very nice work. I suspect when it comes time to sell you will more than recoup your expense to another car nut.

Larry

Hey an old timer like me. I dug my own pit by hand in the first house I built with my ex wife.

It was a lot longer than this one and covered with thick pieces of hard wood.
You could park a car over the middle of the pit and get out at either end.
The walls were done with cinder blocks, the floor with poured concrete and there was a small sump at the bottom but that was never needed.

I used a small fan to blow air our of the garage if the car was running while I was in the pit....
I installed two movable fluro tubes for lighting and a small metal ladder that could be used at either end.

Like anything. If you use some common sense it's hard to get into trouble.

As fare as housing codes... I believe what you do on your own property is nobody's business but your own.
Local councils have way too much power in my opinion.

It actually helped with resale value because I made sure potential buyers saw it during the open for inspection.
The guy that bought it was into classic American muscle cars. A few weeks after they moved in I went back to the house to check for mail.
The new owner was in the pit dropping the oils on his Mustang. You should have seen the smile on his face. :D

I'm considering a lift for my current house because the garage has a high ceiling and if I sell it I can take it with me. ;)

Nice work, Paul. Be careful driving over that thing. (And I've always thought that an "ultimate" pit with lights, fans, tile walls for easy cleanup, tool storage, retractable lid, etc. would be way cooler than a lift.)

PS what is with the mirror in the garage?

PSS - that is one neat and tidy garage!

Jeff - he's on the dry "side" of the state - also the "high" side.


That is a great pic - nothing like using a Bobcat load up a... wheelbarrow!

I bet there is some metal grid out at the truck stop - cut it down to size & then sit it on that lip around the side of the pit.

Looks like you anchored #4 rebar in your slab around the top of the pit. Did you just use a hammer drill to make the holes? Also looks like you don't have any rebar in your floor slab.

All:

This job was a major PITA. From finding out that the rock under my garage was basically bedrock to trying to bend rebar by hand- it all sucked. But boy, oil changes will be a breeze now! Here is a pic of the rebar cage that is in the floor;

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...it/05Rebar.jpg

I used a HilTi tool to drill into the floor, then epoxied the rebar into it- worked pretty well. As for the trackhoe into the wheel barrow- I had two wheel barrows going, and the trailer was only 10' away. Really didn't have any better option.

I haven't backed the 993 over it yet, but will post a pic when I do. Should have lots of room!

Pretty sure I'm going to use aluminum decking to cover the hole- light, maintenance free and plenty strong.

If you're passing through and need an oil change, stop by!

Cheers,

Paul.

I don't see how 993 oil changes will be much easier with this setup, as you have to remove the rear right wheel, wheel liner and right side rocker trim for just the large oil filter, even if on a lift. A pit won't make that any different. Gearbox oil changes will be pretty easy though.

Agreed, although I don't take the wheel off the 993.

The oil changes on the Land Rover, and especially the Mini, will be much easier. Plus I do oil changes on the in-laws Land Rover & Buick- and their HD trike, which is a real PITA.

I'm LMAO......seeing the photo of the mini excavator inside your garage was priceless! You've got me thinking how much it would cost me to pay my son to dig a pit for me....his buddies call him the "Resident Mexican" because he's the kid everyone calls when they have a tough job!!!

How will you clean it? My concern of building a pit was/is keeping it clean.

The photos that you put up are awesome. It makes it look like one could do this in an industrious weekend if they so desired. I understand this is probably not the case.

Great job.

Clean it? How clean? I'd just throw some kitty litter in it and use a vacuum.

how many oil changes do you do? enough to make a set of ramps seem like the crappier option?

seems like a super cool project..

Agreed, aside from the issue of soil and water contamination if you have an oily pit mixing with groundwater. My understanding is that this the primary concern regarding building codes. Lots of people have water in their basement, so a pit can have the same issue.

1-800-dig_rite?

flat screen would be nice on that end wall.

nice hubcaps on your ears!

on hot summer days, you can fill it with beer and ice!

how do you know he didnt ? :confused: :eek: :eek:

Changing the oil on the MCS is a PITA. Can't drive it up on the ramps, and even after I jacked up all 4 corners and put the wheels on ramps, I could barely fit my fat a$$ under there. Plus when you own a Land Rover, you need to be able to get under it pretty regularly...

Update: Found something to cover the hole up;

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...overing001.jpg

I need to do some more work on it (the panels are a really tight fit) but I'm pretty happy with it. If it's dry enough this weekend, I'll paint it with that Rustoleum epoxy floor paint.

I am not going to answer the 'how many bodies' question :eek:

Cheers,

Paul.

did you add a light or elec socket in there? It could be dark in there. Dragging an ext. cord is a bit*h.

Paul,

Very nice. I like the idea of the small sections to make them easy to lift and you only need to open what you need.

I would suggest you add some type of built in handles for each section to lift the sections.

I know you can have a separate tool for lift the sections, but permanently attached handles means that Kathryn will not be mad at you for losing them when you need for her to open the pit nor will she drop them on your head. :D

Seriously considered power, as well as a drain, compressed air, etc. I got 2 of those LED cordless work lights for my birthday (they are really bright!) so I should be good. Plus, after I paint the concrete it will be lighter in there.

Trying to figure out how to do that. Unfortunately the panels are just too big for all 4 of them to fit, so I need to either make the hole bigger (tough) or make the panels smaller (easier but I don't want to weaken them).

I'll keep y'all posted!

Cheers,

Paul.

For your narrow section, why not cut a plate of Aluminium and put a few pieces of channel on the back side to get the height right and add strength.

An alternative is to remove the excess material from the middle and use a channel or H beam to reattach the halves together. Notch the ends so the plate fits flush and provides some support for the break.

Handles could be simple loops of nylon webbing . . .

(here's a thought - next time the kids misbehave (if you have kids,) calmly take 'em out to the garage, point to the pit and make dramatic eye contact.)

Wow Paul, this is a huge project.
Well done.

forget handles...get a hooked rod like the utility companies use for pulling up manhole covers. no sense bending over when you dont have to.

i like it. i seem to remember carbon monoxide is denser than air, and will pool in deep pits..so be careful.

Awesome project Paul-I had a friend in college who serviced his muscle cars much in the same way, but stupidly he dug his pit in the yard next to his house, no reinforcement of any sort. He never had a mishap, but I always worried he was gonna get crushed.